


Sentimental Fool

by chronicAngel



Series: Leaves in the Summer [11]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, F/M, Goodbyes, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 05:12:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13495632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chronicAngel/pseuds/chronicAngel
Summary: She's vaguely aware that somewhere on the ground, a little girl who was just recently promoted to chūnin and who adores her sensei more than anybody else in the world is now watching this entire interaction. She is watching the so-called strongest woman in the world stand across from her sensei and beg him to stay or else take her with him. She is watching her sensei tell her that he can't-- that he won't.





	Sentimental Fool

Grass rustles around her feet as she runs through the woods desperately, sharp eyes searching for any sign of him. Jiraiya has launched himself into the woods in the opposite direction, though she has a distinct feeling that she is moving in the right direction. She just has to make sure she catches up to him.

As it turns out, it isn't as difficult a task as she was anticipating. He isn't exactly moving in a leisurely stroll, but the purple-haired kunoichi at his side-- one of his students, if she remembers correctly-- slows him down significantly. It's a matter of minutes before she moves around them and ends on a branch in front of them, closing her eyes tightly and hoping they don't crash into her. They seem to stop in time.

She cracks open her eyes to see him, just as beautiful as ever. The moonlight reflects off of his skin, he's so pale, and his hair is the same inky black as the night sky above them, though there are no white flecks for stars like she is beginning to see in other shinobi who were in their graduating class. The childish part of her that still clings to their past wants to grab his face and kiss him hard, though they haven't been in a relationship for over a decade now. "Tsunade," he croons, and just hearing him speak is enough of a relief that her knees try to buckle underneath her.

"Orochimaru," she breathes, and then tries to make her voice more fierce. "Come with me."

He gives her a look that sickeningly resembles sympathy, and then waves at the girl beside him, who immediately jumps from the branch that they stand on. She braces for an attack that doesn't come, and then focuses on his face again. "It's very unbecoming of you to follow after me like we're children again, Tsunade," he says, sounding bored. Her heart lurches, though she tries not to show it.

"I was always wasting my time following you around, Orochimaru. It wasn't just when we were children." She tries to fill her tone with venom, but knows that it falls flat. The relief she feels at having caught him outweighs any anger she has been attempting to harbor, and she hates how simply seeing him can melt her upset away.

"You were," he confirms, sounding almost nostalgic-- wistful. He stares at his nails the way she used to when they were younger, and she wonders if it isn't some sort of petty and admittedly small mockery. "Don't make a fool of yourself, Tsunade. We both know why you're here and we both know that you aren't going to succeed. The old man is a fool if he thinks that sending you after me is going to stir some deep emotion that will suddenly make me change my mind. In truth, I've already left Konoha behind." She wants to point out that it wasn't their sensei that sent her. That she and Jiraiya chased after him on their own in a panic, and that the Hokage would never think something so foolish. That the only one who thought such a foolish thing was her.

She takes a desperate step forward, though there isn't much space to move around on the branch underneath her feet, and just stares at him for a minute. He looks at her like an observer, a researcher documenting every movement and behavior for a report, but she watches him like someone desperately searching for something. She doesn't know what it is she's searching for. She surprises even herself with her next words.

"I'll come with you."

Her voice is too soft, too vulnerable. She hates it.

To his credit, Orochimaru looks properly startled. He narrows his eyes, those slits he calls pupils scanning her face as though searching her for a lie, and then he's back to practiced neutrality, with the tinges of sympathy that keeps making her heart pound and the air of feigned boredom that makes her want to roll her eyes. He hasn't changed very much since they were children, either. "Tsunade... your place is here. In your village. With your people."

"Our village!" She yells, desperate for anything she can hold onto. She recognizes the sharp pinching feeling in the backs of her eyes and tries to stifle the urge to sniff. "Our people!" She hates how frenzied she sounds.

"Your village. Your people," he repeats, his voice an unusually soft lilt even for him. His eyes are soft, too, and she wonders if he can see the tears that have begun to stream down her cheeks despite the darkness that surrounds them. His vision has always been better than hers. "You are the granddaughter of the First Hokage. You are the best medic-nin in the Land of Fire. You're the kunoichi who developed the Strength of A Hundred technique. This village will build you up. I'm the mad ANBU scientist who conducts forbidden,  _inhuman_ experiments. There is nothing left for me here."

She sniffs and shakes her head. "Please," she pleads, and his face shifts.

Before she has time to react, he has moved from his place on a branch across from her, meters away, to her branch, standing across from her with only inches of space between their bodies. She's vaguely aware that somewhere on the ground, a little girl who was just recently promoted to chūnin and who adores her sensei more than anybody else in the world is now watching this entire interaction. She is watching the so-called strongest woman in the world stand across from her sensei and beg him to stay or else take her with him. She is watching her sensei tell her that he can't-- that he won't. Wiping defiantly at her cheeks, she straightens, but her voice is still a whisper-- begging. "I've lost everyone I've ever loved. I can't lose you too, Orochimaru. Please..."

"Sentimental fool..." He mutters, but leans in close. His lips against hers feel the same way that they always have, even if she has not kissed him since his students were toddling between their parents and speaking their first words. She doesn't think about it, sniffing and pressing back into the kiss desperately. She would wrap her arms around his waist or his neck or _anything_ but worries about the image it would project, and so she moves her hands to his forearms and grips tight enough that it would bruise a civilian. She knows what he is going to do before he even does, but accepts that it is something she must endure. She accepts he is going to break her heart again, because he does not have one. His lips are still on hers when he knocks her out.

**Author's Note:**

> This is how it went in my head, folks. Also I liked the reflection of Orochimaru/Sasuke and Tsunade/Sakura, so this was born. So many of my fics are born of that reflection though.


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